Then Samson said to them, “Let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.
Parallel translations
- WEB Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing;
- KJV And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
- BSB “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
- NASB Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propose a riddle for you; if you actually tell me the answer within the seven days of the feast, and solve it, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty outfits of clothes.
- NLT Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Samson proposes a riddle, wagering thirty fine garments if they can solve it within seven days. He sets a bold challenge before his companions.
Overview
Samson's riddle and high-stakes wager fit the playful customs of such feasts. Yet the contest will become the spark for serious conflict with the Philistines. The arrangement shows how God will use even Samson's games to set His deliverance in motion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 1 Kgs 10:1When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions.
- Gen 45:22He gave each one of them changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing.
- Ezek 17:2“Son of man, tell a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;
- 2 Kgs 5:5The king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
- Prov 1:6to understand a proverb, and parables, the words and riddles of the wise.
- 2 Kgs 5:22He said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’”
- Jas 5:2Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
- 1 Cor 13:12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
- Matt 6:19“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
- Matt 13:34Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,
- John 16:29His disciples said to him, “Behold, now you speak plainly, and speak no figures of speech.
- Ezek 20:49Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! they say of me, ‘Isn’t he a speaker of parables?’”
- Ps 49:4I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp.
- 2 Chr 7:8So Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt.
- Gen 29:27–28Fulfill the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you will serve with me yet seven other years.”
- Luke 14:7He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them,
- Matt 13:13Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.
- Matt 27:28They stripped him, and put a scarlet robe on him.
- Mark 14:51–52A certain young man followed him, having a linen cloth thrown around himself, over his naked body. The young men grabbed him,
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 14:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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